System, method and apparatus for providing a solar pump system for use within a mechanized irrigation system

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a solar power system for use with a mechanized irrigation system. According to a first preferred embodiment, the solar power system of the present includes solar panels which produce DC current which is used to power the irrigation system and to store water in an elevated storage tank. The systems of the present invention selectively use the water stored in the elevated storage tank to provide water pressure to the irrigation system. According to a further preferred embodiment, the system of the present invention preferably converts the power from the solar panels to AC current and uses AC current to power the movement of the irrigation system and other sub-systems.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional ApplicationNo. 62/947,040 filed Dec. 12, 2019.

FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT INVENTION Field of the PresentInvention

The present invention relates generally to a system, method andapparatus for irrigation management. More specifically, the presentinvention relates to a system, method and apparatus for providing asolar pump system within a mechanized irrigation system.

Background of the Invention

Modern irrigation systems consume significant amounts of electricalpower. Much of this power demand goes to pumping water throughout thesystem and creating pressures high enough for irrigation. Usually, thispower demand is met with power from the local electrical grid, or ifgrid power is not available, from a fossil-fueled engine-genset. Gridpower, however, comes at an increasingly high cost to the operator, andengine-gensets create air pollution, and require deliveries of fuel aswell as regular service and maintenance.

To mitigate these costs, operators have started to use solar power intheir fields. Solar power is initially very expensive to use, but overtime the adoption of solar power can return significant benefits. Forirrigation, these benefits come with several important limitations.First, there is a limit to the power a single solar array can create.Once that limit is reached, the operator must either invest inadditional panels or pay for power off the grid or from some othersource. Additionally, irrigation uses significant amounts of powerwithin short windows of time. This high level of use often extendsbeyond the power production capabilities of a conventional solar powersystem.

Additionally, weather greatly impacts the reliability and powergeneration levels of solar power systems. Still further, no matter howlarge, solar power systems do not generate power at night. For each ofthese reasons, the benefits of using a solar power system for irrigationare limited.

In order to overcome the limitations of the prior art, a system isneeded which is able to unlock the benefits of solar power generation tomaximize the operational effectiveness of modern irrigation equipment.

Summary of the Present Invention

To address the shortcomings presented in the prior art, the presentinvention provides a solar power system for use with a mechanizedirrigation system. According to a first preferred embodiment, the solarpower system of the present invention includes solar panels whichproduce DC current. This electrical power is used to power theirrigation system and to pump water into an elevated storage tank. Thesystem of the present invention preferably uses the water stored in theelevated storage tank to provide pressurized water to the irrigationsystem. The system preferably converts the power from the solar panelsto AC current and then uses the AC current to power the movement of theirrigation system and other sub-systems. At the same time, the systempreferably uses the stored, pressurized water for irrigation.

According to a further preferred embodiment, the solar panels of thepresent invention preferably provide DC current to a charge controller,which executes power point tracking calculations to maximize the powerextraction by the solar panels based on received current and voltagedata. The charge controller may preferably increase the load applied tothe solar panels based on the power point tracking calculations. Thesystem of the present invention preferably also includes a batterysystem for storing excess energy. During times when the solar arrayproduces excess power, that electrical power may be stored in batteriesfor future use. Then, during times when the solar array is unable toproduce sufficient power required for operation of the irrigation systemand/or pumps, the batteries may be used to provide the necessarysupplementary power. Further, the system of the present invention alsopreferably includes an inverter which converts DC current received fromeither the solar array, battery bank (if present) to AC current. Theinverter may also convert AC current received from an outside source(i.e. the grid, an engine-powered generator or the like) to DC anddirect the DC current to a battery for storage or to the irrigationdrive system or well pump motor.

According to a further preferred embodiment, the system of the presentinvention preferably further includes a system switchboard and a systemcontroller. The system switchboard preferably controls the transmissionof AC current to an irrigation drive system and a well pump system. Thesystem controller preferably receives data which may include data suchas: solar power production data, storage tank level data (% of fullcapacity), anticipated water demand data and the like. The systemcontroller may preferably further direct the operation of the well pumpto pump water through a water supply pipe to a water storage tank basedat least in part on received solar power production data.

The system of the present invention preferably allows the irrigationsystem to be substantially powered using only off-grid power generatedby the solar panels of the system. The system of the present inventionpreferably also may include multiple smaller pumps and multiple elevatedwater storage tanks to gravity feed the irrigation system and to producethe pressure required for water distribution.

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute partof the specification, illustrate various embodiments of the presentinvention and together with the description, serve to explain theprinciples of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an exemplary irrigation system in accordance with a firstpreferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows a high level, overhead view of an exemplary irrigationfield incorporating aspects of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary electrical andcontrol system in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an exemplary control device in accordingwith a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an alternative exemplary methodfor managing an irrigation system in accordance with the presentinvention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Aspects of the present invention will be explained with reference toexemplary embodiments and examples which are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings. These descriptions, embodiments and figures arenot to be taken as limiting the scope of the claims. Further, the word“exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, orillustration.” Accordingly, any embodiment described herein as“exemplary” is not to be construed as preferred over other embodiments.Additionally, well-known elements of the embodiments will not bedescribed in detail or will be omitted so as not to obscure relevantdetails.

Where the specification describes advantages of an embodiment orlimitations of other prior art, the applicant does not intend todisclaim or disavow any potential embodiments covered by the appendedclaims unless the applicant specifically states that it is “herebydisclaiming or disavowing” potential claim scope. Likewise, the term“embodiments” does not require that all embodiments of the inventioninclude any discussed feature or advantage, nor that it does notincorporate aspects of the prior art which are sub-optimal ordisadvantageous.

As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. Additionally, the word “may” is used in a permissive sense(i.e., meaning “having the potential to’), rather than the mandatorysense (i.e. meaning “must”). Further, it should also be understood thatthroughout this disclosure, unless logically required to be otherwise,where a process or method is shown or described, the steps of the methodmay be performed in any order (i.e. repetitively, iteratively orsimultaneously) and selected steps may be omitted. It will be furtherunderstood that the terms “comprises”, “comprising,”, “includes” and/or“including”, when used herein, specify the presence of stated features,integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do notpreclude the presence or addition of one or more other features,integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groupsthereof.

The terms “program,” “computer program,” “software application,”“module” and the like as used herein, are defined as a sequence ofinstructions designed for execution on a computer system. A program,computer program, module or software application may include asubroutine, a function, a procedure, an object implementation, anexecutable application, an applet, a servlet, a source code, an objectcode, a shared library, a dynamic load library and/or other sequence ofinstructions designed for execution on a computer system. A data storagemeans, as defined herein, includes many different types of computerreadable media that allow a computer to read data therefrom and thatmaintain the data stored for the computer to be able to read the dataagain.

Aspects of the systems and methods described herein may be implementedas functionality programmed into any of a variety of circuitry,including programmable logic devices, microcontrollers with memory,embedded microprocessors, firmware, software, etc. Furthermore, aspectsof the systems and methods may be embodied in microprocessors havingsoftware-based circuit emulation, discrete logic (sequential andcombinatorial), custom devices, fuzzy (neutral network) logic, quantumdevices, and hybrids of any of the above device types.

FIGS. 1-4 illustrate aspects of an exemplary self-propelled irrigationsystem which may be used with example implementations of the presentinvention. As should be understood, the irrigation system disclosed inFIGS. 1-4 are exemplary irrigation systems onto which the features ofthe present invention may be integrated. Accordingly, the figures areintended to be illustrative and any of a variety of systems (i.e. fixedsystems as well as linear and center pivot self-propelled irrigationsystems; corner systems) may be used with the present invention withoutlimitation.

With reference now to FIG. 1, an exemplary irrigation machine 100 of thepresent invention is shown. As discussed herein, a key advantage of thepresent invention is the management of solar power to allow foroff-the-grid irrigation of crops (e.g. using primarily self-producedelectrical power). The solar power to the system is preferably providedby one or more solar arrays 102 which may be composed of any number ofsolar panels. The solar array 102 of the present invention preferablymay include any number of solar panels connected in series and/orparallel to provide the power requirements of the present invention. Thepower generated by the solar array 102 is output as a DC current whichis directed from the solar array 102 to a charge controller 104.

According to a preferred embodiment, the charge controller 104 of thepresent invention is preferably capable of maximum power point tracking(MDPT). Specifically, the charge controller 104 of the present inventionis preferably programmed to measure the I-V curve output by the solararray and to adjust the load/duty ratio of the system using MPPTalgorithms to maximize power extraction under all conditions.Accordingly, when an additional load is beneficial, the chargecontroller 104 may increase the applied load by causing the well pump110 to begin or to increase the pumping of water from the well 118 tothe water tank 114. In this way, the charge controller 104 may bothincrease the rate of power extraction and store water under pressure forlater use.

With further reference to FIG. 1, the charge controller 104 mayadditionally direct DC current to either one or more batteries 126, orto an inverter 120. The inverter 120 may convert the received DC currentto AC current for instant use by the irrigation system as discussedfurther below. According to a preferred embodiment, the inverter 120used with the present invention may be a single mode or multi-modeinverter. As shown in FIG. 1, the AC current may be provided to avariety of systems such water pumping systems and/or span drivingsystems 122. An exemplary water pumping system may include a pump motor108 which provides power to a downhole turbine pump 110 or the like. Inoperation, the pump 110 preferably is positioned under the water line ofa well 118 or other water source. The pump 110 preferably provides waterunder pressure through a water storage pipe 112 for storage within anelevated water tower 114. In addition to using the solar power to pumpwater into the water tower 114, the system 100 preferably further usesthe solar power to power the electro-mechanical systems of pivot point106 and the irrigation span 120 as discussed further below.

During irrigation operations, the stored water within the elevated watertower 114 is preferably connected (directly or indirectly) via a watersupply pipe/network 116 to a pivot point 106 and to one or moreirrigation spans 120. According to a preferred embodiment, the storedwater within the elevated water tower 114 is preferably sufficient involume and height to supply water at pressures which meet or exceed thepressure requirements of the sprinklers 126 of the irrigation span 120.Preferably, the pivot controller 124 may receive feedback from one ormore transducers 128 to monitor the water pressure provided by the watersupply pipe/network 116. Where the detected water pressure falls belowthe required levels for a given sprinkler set or VRI prescription, thepivot controller 124 preferably may create additional water pressure viaan auxiliary pump, water source or the like.

As discussed above, the water tower 114 is preferably elevated to aheight sufficient to create water pressure which meets or exceeds therating of each sprinkler set usable with the irrigation span 120. Forexample, where an irrigation span sprinkler set will require a minimumof 25 PSI, the water tower 114 is preferably sized and elevated toprovide that level of pressure (plus a needed margin based on the typeof system and expected losses). Generally, each foot of height provides0.43 PSI (pounds per square inch) of pressure, so to achieve 25 PSI atthe pivot (plus 5 PSI for other pressure losses), the water tower 114would preferably be elevated to at least 70 feet or higher to providethe necessary pressure.

In the example of FIG. 1, a single solar array 102, water tower 114 andpump 110 are shown. According to alternative embodiments, the presentinvention preferably may include any number of smaller pumps and storagetanks to gravity feed the irrigation system and to produce the pressurerequired for water distribution. Further, any number of different solararrays may be combined within the present invention without limitation.

With reference now to FIG. 2, a high level, overhead view of anexemplary irrigation field incorporating aspects of the presentinvention is provided. As shown, an exemplary field arrangement 200 mayinclude a centrally located solar array 202 located near a water source204 and one or more pivot points 206-212. Ideally, the solar array 202may be located very near the water source so that transmission loss fromthe solar array 202 is minimized. The water storage tank 226 may also belocated near the water source and the solar array 202 minimizing theloss of water pressure through the water storage pipe 222 and the watersupply pipe 224. Thus, the water storage and transport system of thepresent invention may provide a long term, highly efficient,environmentally friendly and low maintenance, power storage system forproviding water pressure to any number of irrigation spans 214-220.

With reference now to FIG. 3, an exemplary electrical system 300incorporating aspects of the present invention is shown. To complementand support the water distribution system discussed above, theelectrical system 300 of the present invention preferably includes oneor more solar panels 302, 304, 306 which convert solar radiation to DCcurrent. The DC current from each solar panel 302, 304, 306 ispreferably transmitted first to a combiner 308 and then to a chargecontroller 310. The DC current may then be directly transmitted to a setof batteries 312 for storage. The charge controller 310 may also directDC current to an inverter 314 which may preferably be a multi-modeinverter capable of converting AC to DC and DC to AC as needed.Additionally, the inverter 314 may receive and transmit AC current toand from an outside electric grid 324 which may be metered 322 to tracknet electrical consumption. The inverter 314 may further provide ACcurrent to a main switchboard/irrigation controller 318 for selectivetransmission to various sub-systems including the irrigation system 320,the well motor/pump 322 and other systems and common loads 321 such aslighting and the like.

With reference now to FIG. 4, an exemplary control device 400 whichrepresents functionality to control one or more operational aspects ofthe irrigation systems 100, 300 of the present invention will now bediscussed. As shown, the exemplary control device 400 preferablyincludes a processor 402, a memory 406, software modules 410 and anetwork interface 404. The processor 402 provides processingfunctionality for the control device 400 and may include any number ofprocessors, micro-controllers, or other processing systems. Theprocessor 402 may execute one or more software modules/programs 410 thatimplement techniques described herein and may process stored sensor data408 as discussed further below. The network interface 404 preferablyprovides functionality to enable the control device 400 to communicatewith one or more networks 416 through a variety of components such aswireless access points, transceivers and so forth, and any associatedsoftware employed by these components (e.g., drivers, configurationsoftware, and so on).

In implementations, the control device 400 preferably includes aposition-determining module 414 which may receive input data from aglobal positioning system (GPS) receiver 418 or the like to calculate alocation of the irrigation system 100/300. Further, the control device400 may be coupled to various drive tower controllers 422 to control andcoordinate the movement of the irrigation system 100. As shown, thecontrol device 400 may further include a drive control module 412 toassist in controlling the movement of the system. Further, the controldevice 400 may preferably further include multiple inputs and outputs toreceive data from sensors 420 and monitoring devices as discussedfurther below.

According to a first preferred embodiment, the control device 400 of thepresent invention may preferably implement power control algorithms tocalculate the power needs for the irrigation of a given field. Based onthese calculations, the algorithms of the present invention mayselectively use precise amounts of stored, elevated water (i.e.pressurized) as needed to complete a given set of irrigation tasks whileminimizing the need for supplemental power (i.e. from the grid). Thecontrol device 400 may preferably use the input data to calculate thetotal power available for the irrigation of a given field. According toa first preferred embodiment, the calculations may include a calculationof the total power available at a particular date and time. For example,this calculation may be as follows:

TOTAL POWER AVAILABLE=NET SOLAR POWER GENERATION+BATTERY POWER STORED

Preferably, the algorithms of the present invention may furthercalculate the total power needed to complete the irrigation of a givenfield. An exemplary calculation may include input data such as: fieldslope, field area, traction, irrigation time, water pressure/pumprequirements and the like. Additional input data may include data suchas: irrigation map data (i.e. GPS dimensions of a given field); soiltype; soil moisture; weather data (including storm events, humidity,temperature, wind speed and direction); movement data (including speedand direction of the irrigation machine); and topographical data(including data regarding obstacles and the slope of the terrain to beirrigated). Where available, the calculations may include historic powerusage data for the same field which may be adjusted for changes inconditions. Using sets of input data, the system of the presentinvention may preferably calculate the supplemental power required toirrigate a given field. An exemplary calculation may be as follows:

SUPPLEMENTAL POWER REQUIRED=TOTAL POWER CONSUMPTION−TOTAL POWERAVAILABLE

According to a preferred embodiment, where supplemental power isrequired, the control device 400 may trigger the system to use waterpressure supplied by the elevated water tower 114. As discussed above,the elevated water tower 114 is preferably connected to a pivot point106 and to one or more irrigation spans 120. According to a preferredembodiment, the stored water within the elevated water tower 114 ispreferably sufficient in volume and height to supply water at pressureswhich meet or exceed the pressure requirements of the sprinklers 126 ofthe irrigation span 120. In this way, the control device 400 may use thestored water in the elevated water tower 114 to reduce the total powerconsumption of the irrigation system as needed. Accordingly, the systemmay reduce the amount of supplemental power used from the grid 324 orfrom generators.

Preferably, the pivot controller 124 may also receive feedback from oneor more transducers 128 to monitor the water pressure provided by thewater supply pipe/network 116. Further, the control device 400 of thepresent invention may preferably receive continual updates from allsensors and systems and may preferably dynamically calculate and updatethe supplemental power required for the irrigation system in real-timefor a given field so that stored, pressurized water can be conservedwhen not needed.

According to an alternative preferred embodiment, the control device 400of the present invention may alternatively use the stored, pressurizedwater to adjust for changes in anticipated solar power production. Inthis embodiment, the control device 400 of the present invention maypreferably receive input data such as: MPPT system data, weather data,field mapping data, water storage level data, battery state-of-chargedata, grid power and/or engine-genset power availability and cost,forecasted water demand data, current water and irrigation system energydemand data, and water pressure data. The control device 400 maypreferably use the input data to control the power generation, powerconsumption, scheduling and electro-mechanical activities of theirrigation system. For example, the control device 400 may processselected input data (e.g. solar condition and MPPT load data) anddetermine/instruct changes to the rate of speed and/or other operatingparameters of the irrigation system. For example, where the solar poweroutput is low, the control device 400 may change the operating speed ofthe system to allow the system to complete an entire watering programwithout using grid power. Similarly, where solar power output is higher,the control device 400 may increase the speed of the system to maximizethe power production during a high sunlight period.

The control device 400 may similarly use internal algorithms to time andschedule when to use solar power to pump water to an elevated watertower and/or to mechanically move system. For example, where a first dayis predicted to generate a low amount of solar power, the system mayexecute an irrigation program requiring a lower speed. On a followingday, the system may program and execute a VRI program requiring morepower. In another example, where the weather data indicates that a highpower generation day is to be followed by a low power generation day,the control device 400 may preferably adjust a given VRI program so thaton the high power generating day, the system will directly use generatedsolar power to both operate the watering system and to supply all neededwater pressure. In this way, the system may preserve the amount of waterstored at elevation. On the next lower power generating day, the controldevice 400 may preferably adjust the VRI program to use water providedby the water tank for irrigation and to restrict the use of solar powerto moving the irrigation span. The control device 400 may preferablyalso use stored battery energy along with estimate power generation todetermine the ratio of water tank power vs solar power to use.Additionally, the system of the present invention may also charge and/oruse battery energy based on the same input data.

The drive control module 412 of the present invention may receivecontinual updates from all sensors and systems of the present inventionso that it may dynamically calculate and update VRI parameters inreal-time as the irrigation system executes a given watering plan. Forexample, the drive control module 412 may receive and adjust targetmotor speeds based on solar power related data such as: MPPT data;levels of current and forecasted solar power generation; water storagelevels; battery storage levels; grid power costs; time shifted gridpower costs and the like. Additionally, the drive control module 412 mayuse the solar power related data in combination with other VRIprescription data to update VRI parameters of a given VRI prescription.Such VRI prescription data may include data such as: irrigation map data(i.e. GPS dimensions of a given field); soil/crop data (crop type,growth stage, irrigation history, soil type and/or measured soilmoisture; weather data (including storm events, humidity, temperature,wind speed and direction); movement data (including speed and directionof the irrigation machine); and topographical data (including dataregarding obstacles and the slope of the terrain to be irrigated). Thedrive control module 412 may also analyze the VRI data to trigger ahigher rate of speed so that a total irrigation cycle is completedquickly enough to allow the system to initiate a second irrigation cycleto keep up with solar power production.

With reference now to FIG. 5, an alternative exemplary method 500 formanaging power and loads during irrigation in accordance with thepresent invention shall now be discussed. As shown in FIG. 5, accordingto a first preferred embodiment, at a first step 502 the system maycollect and update environmental data. At a next step 504, the systemmay also receive and update forecast data. Preferably, this data mayinclude factors impacting the amount of solar radiation available to thesystem and/or other VRI prescription data. These may include factorssuch as: solar radiation, cloud cover, precipitation, and the like. At anext step 506, the system may then preferably calculate a photovoltaic(PV) production schedule which preferably stores the amounts of PV powerwhich will be produced per segment of time for a given area of field.

At a next step 508, the system may then preferably calculate one or morePV production/irrigation windows which identify and/or maximize theavailable PV power available for irrigation. Such production windows maydefine periods of time in which the generated PV meets or exceeds thepower needed to execute a given irrigation plan. Alternatively, theproduction window may define periods of time in which the generated PVmeets or exceeds the power needed to execute a given irrigation planwhile also using various levels of supplemental power (e.g. batterystored, elevated water storage, limited grid-power). At a next step 510,the system may preferably calculate and store parameters for a wateringplan for a desired level of watering to be executed during thecalculated PV production windows. According to a preferred embodiment,the watering plan may preferably be calculated for 400-450 degrees ofrotation over an 8-hour period to ensure uniformity in waterapplication. At a next step 512, the system may then preferablycalculate and adjust the necessary drive speeds to execute the wateringplan within the PV production windows.

According to a further preferred embodiment, the system of the presentinvention may preferably link to or extend a soil moisture probe intothe ground and/or through a given root zone of a selected crop (step514). According to a preferred embodiment, the probes for use with thepresent invention may include solar powered, GSM connected soil moistureprobes or the like. In accordance with this preferred embodiment, thesystem may preferably apply a given test amount of targeted water (step516) onto the soil probed by the soil moisture probe. At a next step518, the system may thereafter calculate one or more soilcharacteristics such as soil infiltration rates and the like. Accordingto a further alternative preferred embodiment, other parameters may alsobe tested on the watered ground such as: evaporation rates, run-offlevels and the available traction/slippage on the watered soil. Thesemeasured changes (or changes to other VRI prescription data) may thenpreferably be used by the system of the present invention to update,determine and/or refine changes in energy consumption by the system.These updates may then preferably be used in turn to update thecalculated and/or prescribed drive speeds, PV windows, schedules and/orwatering rates.

While the above descriptions regarding the present invention containmuch specificity, these should not be construed as limitations on thescope, but rather as examples. Many other variations are possible. Forexample, the communications provided with the present invention may bedesigned to be duplex or simplex in nature. Further, as needs require,the processes for transmitting data to and from the present inventionmay be designed to be push or pull in nature. Still, further, eachfeature of the present invention may be made to be remotely activatedand accessed from distant monitoring stations. Accordingly, data maypreferably be uploaded to and downloaded from the present invention asneeded.

Accordingly, the scope of the present invention should be determined notby the embodiments illustrated, but by the appended claims and theirlegal equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. An irrigation system for dispersing input water,wherein the input water is received from a water inlet source, whereinthe irrigation system includes at least a first conduit secured to afirst span, the irrigation system comprising: a plurality of solarpanels, wherein the solar panels are configured to output electricalcurrent in the form of DC current; a combiner, wherein the combiner isconfigured to receive multiple DC current inputs from the plurality ofsolar panels and output a combined DC current; a charge controller,wherein the charge controller is configured to receive current andvoltage data from the plurality of solar panels; wherein the chargecontroller is configured to execute a power point tracking calculationto maximize the power extraction of at least one solar panel based onthe received current and voltage data; wherein the charge controller isconfigured to trigger an increase in the load applied to at least afirst solar panel based on the power point tracking calculation; abattery, wherein the battery is configured to receive and store DCcurrent from the combiner; an inverter, wherein the inverter isconfigured to receive DC current from the combiner and convert at leasta portion of the DC current to AC current; further wherein the inverteris configured to transmit a least a portion of the converted AC currentto a system switchboard; wherein the switchboard is configured toselectively transmit AC current to one or more downstream irrigationsystems; an inlet source pump; wherein the inlet source pump isconfigured to direct inlet water into the irrigation system from aninlet source; a water storage container, wherein the water storagecontainer is elevated to a height to produce a pressure exceeding 20PSI; a water storage valve, wherein the water storage valve isconfigured to move between a first position and a second position;wherein in the first position the water storage valve directs inletwater to the first conduit; wherein the first conduit comprises aplurality of sprinklers; wherein in the second position the waterstorage valve directs the inlet water to the water storage container forstorage; a storage release valve; wherein the storage release valve isconfigured to move between a closed position and an open position;wherein in the closed position the storage release valve restricts theinlet water from flowing out of the water storage container; wherein inthe open position the storage release valve allows the stored inletwater to flow from the water storage container into the first conduit;and a system power controller; wherein the system power controller isconfigured to receive solar power data and stored battery data; whereinthe system power controller is configured to calculate a total poweravailable; wherein the total power available is calculated based on thesolar power data and the stored battery data; wherein the system powercontroller is configured to calculate a supplemental power requirementbased on the difference between the total power available and the totalpower needed to irrigate a given field; wherein the system powercontroller is configured to release inlet water stored in the waterstorage container when the supplemental power requirement exceeds afirst threshold value; wherein the amount of inlet water released fromthe water storage container is selected to achieve a target irrigationwater pressure.
 2. The irrigation system of claim 1, wherein the firstconduit and the first span are supported by a first drive tower having afirst drive tower controller, a first drive motor and a first drivewheel; where the irrigation system further comprises a second conduitsecured to a second span which is supported by a second drive towerwhich includes a second drive tower controller, a second drive motor anda second drive wheel; wherein the irrigation further comprises: a firstmotor control system, wherein the first motor control system receivesinputs and adjusts the operational status of the first drive motor; anda second motor control system, wherein the second motor control systemreceives inputs and adjusts the operational status of the second drivemotor; wherein the first and second motor control systems are configuredto vary a drive motor characteristic in response to a drive command;wherein the drive motor characteristic is selected from the group ofdrive motor characteristics comprising: electrical pulse rate, voltage,RPM, current and frequency; wherein the drive command comprises acommanded speed of the irrigation machine; and a drive control system,wherein the drive control system transmits drive commands to the firstmotor control system and the second motor control system; wherein thedrive control system determines the commanded speed based on detectedinput condition data; wherein the drive control system is configured toexecute a first VRI prescription; wherein the first VRI prescriptioncomprises: motor speeds, motor directions, drive wheel paths, andirrigation dispersal rates; wherein the drive control system isconfigured to change to the first VRI prescription based on solar powerrelated data; wherein the solar power related data is selected from thegroup of data comprising: voltage levels; current levels; load data;MPPT data; levels of current and forecasted solar power generation;water storage levels; battery storage levels; grid power costs; and timeshifted grid power costs.
 3. The irrigation system of claim 1, whereinthe irrigation system comprises a first transducer; wherein the firsttransducer is configured to detect water pressure within the irrigationsystem; wherein the system power controller is configured to releaseinlet water stored in the water storage container when the detectedwater pressure falls below a second threshold value.
 4. The irrigationsystem of claim 3, wherein the second threshold value is determinedbased at least in part on the water pressure required for a selectedsprinkler set.
 5. The irrigation system of claim 4, wherein the secondthreshold value is determined based at least in part on the waterpressure required for a second VRI prescription.
 6. The irrigationsystem of claim 5, wherein the total power available is calculated byadding a net solar power generation and a total stored battery power;wherein the system power controller is configured to calculate asupplemental power requirement based on the difference between the totalpower available and a first total power calculation; wherein the firsttotal power calculation comprises a calculation of the total powerneeded to irrigate a given field.
 7. The irrigation system of claim 6,wherein the first total power calculation is calculated based at leastin part on a first set of input data.
 8. The irrigation system of claim7, wherein the first set of input data is selected from the group ofinput data comprising: field slope, field area, traction, irrigationtime, water pressure requirements, soil type, and soil moisture.
 9. Theirrigation system of claim 8, wherein the first set of input data isselected from the group of input data comprising: storm events,humidity, temperature, wind speed and wind direction.
 10. The irrigationsystem of claim 9, wherein the first set of input data is selected fromthe group of input data comprising: a programmed speed and direction ofthe irrigation machine.
 11. The irrigation system of claim 10, whereinthe first set of input data is selected from the group of input datacomprising: the slope of the terrain to be irrigated.
 12. The irrigationsystem of claim 11, wherein the first set of input data is selected fromthe group of input data comprising: historic power usage data.
 13. Theirrigation system of claim 12, wherein the system power controller isconfigured to calculate a second required power amount; wherein thesecond required power amount is calculated based at least in part on asecond set of input data; wherein the second set of input datacomprises: MPPT system data, weather data, field mapping data, waterstorage level data, battery state-of-charge data, grid poweravailability, grid power cost, forecasted water demand data, irrigationsystem energy demand data, and water pressure data.
 14. The irrigationsystem of claim 13, wherein the system power controller is configured toadjust a first system parameter based on the second set of input data.15. The irrigation system of claim 14, wherein the system powercontroller is configured to change an operating speed of the irrigationsystem based on the weather data; wherein the weather data comprisesdetected solar radiation levels.
 16. The irrigation system of claim 14,wherein the system power controller is configured to change an operatingspeed of the irrigation system based on a calculation of whether theirrigation system is able to complete a third VRI program for a givenfield without using grid power at a given speed.
 17. The irrigationsystem of claim 16, wherein the system power controller is configured tochange the third VRI program based on forecasted weather.
 18. Theirrigation system of claim 17, wherein the system power controller isconfigured to change the third VRI program for a first day based on aforecasted higher solar radiation level for the first day.
 19. Theirrigation system of claim 18, wherein the system power controller isconfigured to change a fourth VRI program scheduled to execute on afourth day to a fifth VRI program to execute on the fourth day; whereinthe fifth VRI program requires less power than the fourth VRI program;wherein the fourth VRI program is changed to the fifth VRI program basedat least in part on a higher forecasted solar radiation level for alater fifth day.
 20. The irrigation system of claim 19, wherein thesystem power controller is configured to trigger the use of the storedinlet water on a sixth day based on a higher forecasted solar radiationlevel for a later seventh day.